Chapter four

"You could have known he was gay." Itachi sighed. He had invited Sasuke over, since Deidara had been unreachable all week long.

But all Sasuke could do was tell him he was stupid for not realizing Deidara was gay sooner.

"He never said anything." Itachi protested calmly. He knew he would never win this anyway.

"He didn't have to." Sasuke said. "I mean come one. He oozes gay."

"And how would you know that?" Itachi teased with a smirk. Sasuke might not be gay, but he was sensitive about his orientation.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Itachi laughed at his little brother's hiss. So sensitive.

"Nothing Sasuke. Relax." Itachi said, chuckling to himself. Sasuke huffed.

"Well anyway, like I said, he radiates gay."

"You said 'oozes gay'."

"Whatever. With his long blonde hair, tight jeans and the way he acts he's just obviously gay."

"I guess so." Itachi sighed. He had been rather stupid. Now Deidara seemed too occupied with his former boyfriend, had Itachi been sooner, he might have had Deidara by now.

It was too late though.

"You know what you should do?" Sasuke said, stuffing his mouth with some chips. "Fight for him."

"Don't talk with your mouth full Sasuke. Mom will find you a disgrace." A smirk creeped up both boys faces.

"Respond to what I said moron."

"I can't fight for him. He chose."

"You don't know that."

"I think I do Sasuke." Itachi sighed. He saw Sasuke making a face that clearly said 'you're stupid', but luckily, he stayed silent.

Itachi didn't feel like being told what to do. He already knew he blew it.

"So why do you like him so much anyway?" Sasuke asked after a while of silence.

Itachi pondered on that.

"I think just because he's a breath of fresh air. He lives."

"Hey I'm breathing."

"Not the same. He does unexpected things, he's outgoing, has a great sense of humor."

"So do I."

"Yeah, but you're also my obnoxious little brother, so I would never fall for you." Itachi smirked.

"Oh no, you've hurt me. I was about to confess I'm madly in love with you." Sasuke said and smirked back.

"It's a good thing I know you're joking, cause that's gross." The two brothers laughed slightly.

"Whatever. I'm glad you found someone who can loosen you up a little though. You've become a pain in the ass sometimes."

"Thanks Sasuke, very nice." Itachi rolled his eyes slightly, but kept smiling. "I'm glad I met him too."

Although right now it seemed like he was losing Deidara already.

"But say you would've gotten together with him." Sasuke started. "What would you tell dad?"

Itachi frowned at that. He hadn't actually thought of that. His father would definitely not be pleased. Some death threats would definitely be thrown his way, even if his father didn't mean it.

He would be ignored for weeks as well, he was sure.

"Haven't thought of that, have you?" Sasuke chuckled lightly. "Dad would kill you."

"I guess he would."

"Mom would be ecstatic to see you in love for a change. Seriously, get married or something, because she keeps whining about how she just wants what's best for you blah blah blah."

Itachi had to laugh at that.

"I hear you certainly don't support that thought."

"Not true. But I just want you happy, with or without a partner." Sasuke said.

Itachi wanted to thank Sasuke for that, however, his phone started ringing. Without checking his caller-ID, he answered it.

"Uchiha Itachi speaking."

"Itachi? You wanna hang out tomorrow?" It was Deidara.

"I guess so." Itachi said, knowing he didn't sound to exciting.

Even though he was.

"You don't have to you know yeah."

"No, it's fine." Itachi could see Sasuke frowning in the corner of his eye.

"Ok well, pick me up after school then yeah?" Itachi smiled. Deidara had seemed hesitant at first, but now sounded excited already.

"What time are you done?" Itachi asked.

"Two. And so are you, I know your schedule."

"I'll pick you up then." Itachi looked at Sasuke, who was wriggling his eyebrow at him.

He quickly looked away again.

"I'll see you tomorrow then yeah!" Deidara said enthusiastically.

"See you tomorrow Deidara." They hung up after some short goodbyes.

"Scored a date with your idiot there?" Sasuke asked, still smirking.

"It's not a date Sasuke."

"You should make it a date then."

"I'll take your advice once I see that girlfriend of yours." Itachi said smirking.

"I might not have a girlfriend, but I still know I've been on a lot more dates than you." Sasuke smirked back at his brother.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, that is so. Now be quiet. The movie's starting."

Itachi smiled as he saw his brother stuff more chips in his mouth as he watched the tv. He himself didn't really watch the movie. He was too busy thinking of tomorrow.

He would see Deidara again.

-.-.-

As the day passed by, Itachi couldn't help but be unfocussed in his classes. He had been thinking of Deidara all day.

And then he started thinking of how much he was thinking of the blonde. It both bothered him as excited him.

Even though Deidara was out of limits right now, because surely, he would be together with Sasori by now, he was just glad he could spend time with him again.

At the end of his school day, Itachi quickly went by his locker, then decided to head to Deidara's. When he saw the back of the blonde, he just smiled.

Then Deidara turned around.

"Itachi yeah! How are you?" He asked happily.

"I am fine, thanks. How have you been doing?"

"Great! Shall we get going yeah?"

Itachi blinked a little. He hadn't really thought of what they should be doing today. He wanted Deidara to have fun, so what should he do now?

He then earned a soft punch in the arm from Deidara.

Frowning, he rubbed it a little.

"I already have it planned yeah. So, let's get to your car." Deidara said and then pulled Itachi along with him.

"What are we doing then?" He asked. Of course, Deidara knew exactly what he was thinking. That was so typical.

"We're painting your bedroom of course!"

Of course they were painting. How could he not have thought about that? The paint they had bought still stood unused in his bedroom.

As they reached his car and got in, Deidara stopped Itachi from starting the car. Itachi looked at him confused.

"I do need to tell you something first yeah." He said, suddenly sounding nervous.

"Ok. Tell me then."

It stayed silent for a while and Itachi wondered what got Deidara so nervous, that he would not stop fidgeting with his hands.

"I'm back together with Sasori." Deidara then blurted out.

Itachi sighed. Of course they were.

"That's not such a big deal is it? I already figured that." He noticed the slight growl in his voice and hoped Deidara had not heard it.

"Well people aren't usually so accepting. They just don't like gay couples. Especially with such an age gap yeah."

"I told you before I was fine with it Deidara."

"I know, but still yeah." Itachi noticed Deidara's voice getting softer. And he was still fidgeting with his hands.

"Come on, let's go paint my bedroom." He said and smiled at Deidara, who eventually smiled back.

Telling him about Sasori really seemed like a big deal to Deidara.

He obviously really liked that guy. And it stung.

-.-.-

"Haah I'm beat yeah." Itachi watched Deidara drop down on the couch in the living room.

They had spent all afternoon painting the bedroom and once again, Itachi had to admit it looked great. Deidara really had an eye for it.

"You did a great job though." Itachi said as he sat down next to the blonde.

He smiled as he saw Deidara trying to wipe some paint of his cheek. They hadn't had a paint fight this time, however Deidara managed to paint himself while busy with the ceiling.

It had been quite endearing.

"I'm glad you like it. This place looks a lot better now yeah." Deidara said smiling.

"It does. Deidara why don't you take a shower while I make us some food?" Itachi asked.

Deidara pouted.

"I wanna help you cook yeah." Itachi shook his head smiling.

"I know, but I'll be a lot faster if I do it alone."

"Are you saying I can't cook?" Deidara asked offended.

"I'm not saying you can't cook, just-"

"Just what?" Deidara interrupted.

Itachi frowned when Deidara narrowed his eyes at him. Did he not realize he was a bad cook?

"You're just a little slow at it." Itachi said.

"That's not true, I'm a good cook yeah."

"Deidara, I'm not saying you're not a good cook, you just need some time to get the hang of it."

"But you're thinking I suck at it yeah." Deidara said a little snappy.

Itachi frowned.
"Well…"

"See! Urgh, I'm going to take that shower, you go ahead and cook then yeah." Deidara stormed off after that, leaving Itachi dumbfounded.

Why was he so angry over not being a great cook?

Itachi sighed and decided to just order in.

As Deidara finally came back from his shower with damp hair, he sat down next to Itachi, who was watching some TV.

"I'm sorry yeah."

"It's ok."

"It's just, Sasori has been bugging me about my cooking all week."

Itachi frowned at that. They had just gotten back together, shouldn't it be the honeymoon weeks now?

Maybe they just jumped right back into the relationship from before.

"I really tried learning how to cook, because he bothered me about it. But I'm just not good at it yeah."

"Well, maybe I can teach you."

"Really? You'd do that?" Deidara asked, beaming again. "Because you taught me to make pancakes too, so if you'd teach me, then I'm sure I'll get the hang of it in no time yeah."

"I'll be glad to teach you Deidara." Itachi smiled at the blonde next to him, who smiled back wholeheartedly.

Then Deidara groaned a little and rubbed his foot. The foot with the funny tap.

"You know, you never really told me what happened to your foot." Itachi said.

To be honest, he barely knew anything about Deidara.

"It was an accident. Nothing spectacular." Deidara said and smiled. This time though, Itachi wasn't sure if that smile was as meaningful as it had been before.

"What happened?"

"Car accident. I was twelve yeah."

"Who was driving?"

"I was." Apparently, the face Itachi made was hilarious, because Deidara started laughing when he saw it.

Itachi was sure he looked ridiculous.

"You were twelve." He said.

"I know. That's probably why I got into the accident yeah."

Itachi kept silent and just looked at Deidara as if he was crazy.

Which he was. Definitely.

"Come on! A little joyride never killed anyone." Deidara said, still laughing.

"Yes. Yes it has." Itachi said, not knowing why someone would try something so dangerous in the first place.

"Whatever, it didn't kill me yeah." The blonde shrugged it off and then sighed. "At least I was smart enough to put a pillow on my seat, so I could see where I was going."

"Obviously that pillow wasn't high enough."

"Yeah, didn't see the car coming from my right. And I missed the red light as well. Oops." Deidara said innocently, but his eyes were shimmering.

Itachi remembered why he fell in love with this guy again. Deidara was not only fun to be with and outgoing.

He was stunning.

"What? Do I have something on my face yeah?" Deidara snapped Itachi out of his thoughts. Had he been staring?

"No. No, your face is great. Fine. I mean fine." Itachi almost stuttered on his words. That barely ever happened. Actually, it never happened.

Itachi just hoped Deidara didn't hear that little mess up.

"Ok good. I thought I hadn't cleaned myself up right." Deidara said, rubbing his nose.

The two kept quiet until Itachi decided he wanted to know more about Deidara. He wanted to know all about him.

"So, why did you move here?"

Deidara looked a little surprised.

"Oh uhm, I just thought I'd have more chances here to be what I wanna be yeah."

The blonde started smiling again.

"And what do you wanna be?"

"Something artistic!" Deidara exclaimed happily.

Itachi laughed slightly.

"Of course you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I can't imagine you doing anything that isn't creative." Itachi said.

"I think everyone should be a little more creative yeah. That should be my master plan, making everyone more creative."

"Have you started with me?"

Deidara laughed.

"Yes, you're my first apprentice. Next up is your little brother. He has about as much artistic talent as a monkey's butt yeah."

"That's not very nice." Itachi said, but chuckled.

"Let me guess, he still draws in stickman style yeah."

"Honestly?" Itachi asked and Deidara nodded fiercly. "He does."

Deidara started laughing loudly now and Itachi couldn't help but laugh as well.

"He had an art assignment a few weeks ago and everybody thought he had drawn some kind of twisted elephant."

"What did he draw!?" Deidara asked, still laughing, but looking at Itachi anxiously.

"A portrait of his friend Kiba." Deidara started laughing again.

"They had to do drawings on each other." Itachi chuckled. "Luckily Kiba has a good sense of humor."

"That's so funny yeah." Deidara laughed.

"Sasuke was pissed. It's such a shame he can't do art, cause he's so creative with other subjects."

"I'm sure he is." Deidara said and looked at Itachi. "I'm hungry yeah."

It was Itachi's turn to laugh now.

"Does making fun of my brother make you hungry?" He asked smirking.

"Very much so." Deidara answered smiling broadly.

"I'm sure the food will be here soon."

"You ordered in?" Deidara asked surprised. His eyes widened and Itachi couldn't help but get lost in those big blue orbs again.

Luckily, he snapped out of it before Deidara noticed.

"Yeah, didn't feel like cooking after your outburst." Itachi said. Deidara frowned and then looked sad.

"Bummer, I wanted to eat your food yeah." He replied. "You're a great cook."

Itachi smiled at Deidara and was about to thank him when Deidara's phone started ringing. Deidara looked at the screen and smiled slightly.

Itachi could feel his stomach knot. That was definitely Sasori texting.

Deidara looked up from his phone, his face not as happy as it was a few seconds ago.

"Sasori's asking me to come home and have dinner with him." The blonde said a little hesitant.

Itachi stayed silent for a while. He did not want Deidara to go home to that redhead shrimp, but honestly, what did he have to stop the guy.

"Well, it's your decision. If you wanna go, you can go." Itachi really tried to be sincere, but he knew he sounded anything but.

He could see from the look on Deidara's face that he thought the same.

"I'm really sorry, honestly yeah." Deidara looked so distraught, it made Itachi feel the same way.

Itachi was also mad at the annoying man that was taking his friend away from him. And even a little at the blonde sitting in front of him.

Itachi shook his head and faked a smile.

Deidara did the same.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." He got up and grabbed his bag.

Itachi stood up as well.

"I'll show you out." He said and Deidara nodded.

Neither of them seemed eager to go their separate ways and Itachi couldn't put his finger on the tension that hung in the air.

All he knew was that Deidara would slowly slip away if he didn't do something about it.

-.-.-